Thank you all for your thoughts and comments. I've decided to get the outcome of the police investigation out of the way before I do anything else as it feels like a lead weight around my neck as far as CS are concerned. I should know on Tuesday (Aug 5th) whether the CPS intend to prosecute or take no further action (I just want to get on with life again so really don't want them to extend bail again).

The social worker finally arranged contact between me & my son and we had our first session last Friday. I thought she was trying to redress the contact we had missed out on when she emailed me to say the contact would last 150 minutes, only for the centre to devastate me when they said it was booked for 90 minutes. I have to say on this occasion they were quite good though and compromised on 120 minutes but it made me feel so pathetic to have so little say in my son's life.

Today however the foster carer was late turning up with my son and the contact centre refused to adjust the end time of the meeting to give us the full 90 minutes together. God the power these people wield is unbelievable, sitting there making notes on your every breath and not having the heart to give us the full measly 90 minutes together.

The two actual contacts have been good (but brief) and it's been wonderful to laugh with my son again. But at the end it breaks my heart when my son says he wants me to go with him and he is told (then forced) that he has to go back to the foster carer.

What I do need to do is contact the IRO for a number of reasons:My sons social worker has failed to pass on the photos the IRO asked me to send to my son via the social worker.In the meeting with the IRO I put forward my point that 20 minutes on the phone was not long enough for my son to talk to me. In response to my solicitor, their legal department has stated that I refused to comply with their instructions. This is a bare faced lie that I need to bring to the IRO's attention (if she truly is independent and honest she will confirm the inaccuracy of the briefing the legal team have received).I'm not being sent any notes or meeting minutes and after their propensity to lie to my solicitor, I want to know what they have written about my family and ensure it is accurate and not a total fabrication designed to support their actions so far.There has been no further mention of a family conference from my sons social worker.

I did get an unexpected call from the social worker shortly after I got back from today's visit. After the emotional roller coaster of the visit and a 2 hour drive I couldn't follow what she was talking about. I think she was trying to tell me that they were writing to my solicitor about a meeting we could go to where they would finally outline their concerns and considerations for my sons future (I do know she kept saying they didn't want to go to court).

I'll call her on Monday and ask her to explain it again if she hasn't emailed me about this meeting as I asked her to do. On the positive side the social worker does now seem to accept my wife has issues with alcohol. On the negative side she is still adamant that I've committed domestic abuse against my wife.

I'm perplexed that CS seem unable to grasp the fact that we only started having problems when my wife started to fluctuate between being a functional alcoholic and a dysfunctional alcoholic. Prior to this there were no problems with my sons health or education, no concerns or worries from health workers, social workers or any of the 3 schools he has attended. Indeed his 3rd & current school said he was back to normal after February (which coincided with my wife trying to gain sobriety).

When my wife made her first allegation to CS, CS took her at her word and decided I was guilty before they had even bothered to talk to me (they brought a letter to my first interview, effectively a contract on my future behaviour, that they expected me to sign). After this I felt I had no option but to protect myself against my wife's allegations and I did this by initially recording any and all conversations we had using an app on my phone. Over the last few days I've been slowly going through all the recordings which tally with what I have said in my police interviews.

There are numerous recordings where I ask my wife to go to hospital / see the GP but she refuses to. There are conversations about all the bruises she has e.g. because morphine had made her itchy she scratched her skin which then bruised badly. There are also lots of recordings when I'm looking after / helping my son which show me to be a patient, caring & affectionate dad (lots of I love you, lots of laughs, lots of kisses, lots of hugs) and that we enjoy a really good relationship. I would say they also confirm I was the primary carer for our son.

When I was first arrested, I offered the investigating office all my supporting evidence. Whilst he accepted my diary, photos and videos as supporting evidence he didn't want the recordings. If the CPS does decide to take the case to court then hopefully these recordings would be admissible as evidence, the conversations are incontrovertible.

Hopefully the recordings will also be useful in dispelling the misconception CS have of me and if this is the end of the beginning, we can get a family conference organised, put our sons well being ahead of everything else and get him back into the care of his family where he belongs.

Well some charges have been dropped but the case is to go to court.I'll leave it to the solicitors to determine what to do with the evidence I have given them but, admissible or not, it confirms the most serious allegation is a complete and total fabrication.

I'm seeing my son later today which I'm really looking forward to. I should also see my sons social worker so an opportunity to raise some points with her e.g. the foster carer refusing to accede to my sons wishes to call his paternal grandma.

The social worker has mentioned a PLO meeting but has confirmed nothing in writing despite saying she would. I've since pointed out in an email to her that my solicitor needs to be given every opportunity to attend. If my family solicitor is unable to attend because of the social workers tardiness, can I ask that the PLO meeting be rescheduled?

Well after chasing the social worker on the 7th & 14th I finally collected the PLO letter yesterday (the 16th). Considering the actual contents of the letter I struggle to comprehend how it could have taken CS so long to compile it unless CS were hoping to hinder my ability to respond (the actual meeting is scheduled for the 19th so their tactics have left my solicitor just Monday to prepare unless we ask to reschedule the meeting).

I've sent a copy of the letter to my solicitor and took the opportunity to address the points raised in the letter. I'm inclined to withdraw my section 20 consent and do what CS claim they want to avoid, go to court and expose their malpractice for a judge to rule upon but I'll wait to see what my solicitor says and how she intends to respond to their letter before making any decision.

Contact with my son is both wonderful and heartbreakingly painful. How can these people live with themselves when they plainly hear the wishes of the child yet are so power crazed and arrogant that they inflict real pain and suffering on the child because they think they know best?

Can anybody confirm if our only access to the IRO is via the CS social worker or can we contact the IRO directly?

Yes, I agree with you, at this stage it is important that you consult your solicitor before withdrawing your consent to section 20 accommodation. Generally, at the pre proceedings stage, you may want to make sure that any decisions you take about your son are double checked by your solicitor. Have a look at our advice sheet about care proceedings which talks about the importance of working with your solicitor-so that your interests as a father are best served.

Sorry it’s been so long since I was on here last and quite a bit has happened since August!

The CPS have decided to proceed with the prosecution. Having seen the evidence against me, kids at a pre school nursery could have come up with something more credible but both the CPS and police are more concerned with covering their arses than looking objectively at the accusations that have been made by my wife (rather than worry about what has / hasn't actually happened, they are more concerned to abdicate a decision and any responsibility to a jury so that they cannot be accused of not doing anything now, just in case I were to possibly, maybe assault my wife sometime in the future).

According to my family solicitor, CS were very aggressive and confrontational in the first PLO meeting. The second PLO meeting was much more conciliatory with CS profusely & repeatedly apologising for their handling of our case. My son’s original social worker has been removed from our case, taken off the disabled children’s team and an internal review into her work is underway. I've been requested by the PLO chair to submit a complaint and I'm in the process of doing this (there were also systemic organisational failings that need exposing and scapegoating 1 social worker is not going to be acceptable).

As a result since November I seem to be making progress with CS (although I remain cautious as they failed to live up to their promises over Xmas). We have just had a permanent social worker allocated to my son and she seems far more thoughtful, considerate and knowledgeable than the original bigot. Another meeting earlier this month with more apologies, acknowledgment that I wasn't controlling but just doing what was necessary to keep the house functioning (if I didn't do it who would was their tacit confession) and instead of being berated for not knowing my wife was an alcoholic, I received sympathy and understanding.

The best news was that they no longer perceive me as a threat to my son and I'm now enjoying unsupervised contact with my son!!! Still a long way to go but I may possibly be seeing light at the end of the tunnel!

Thanks to all who have commented and offered advice and support, it has been very welcome and appreciated.

In case it helps anyone, during my criminal trial at crown court my barrister played an audio recording of the moments before and after I found my wife stuck on the floor after she had broken her arm. This recording resulted in the jury finding me not guilty of my wife's most serious allegation, namely that I had broken her arm.

Despite rejecting this lie the jury still believed the prosecution on three other charges of assault. A late change of barrister didn't help me and although my replacement was quite capable, he hadn't enough preparation and did not have enough background knowledge on the case. Among other things, he failed to adequately challenge some pictures (taken 4 days after my wife alleged I had assaulted her) of bruises on her legs that were taken while she was in hospital (I had called for an ambulance after finding her intoxicated). He failed to play a second audio recording that would have enabled the jury to hear my wife describe how her medication and scratching caused her to bruise badly and extensively and no mention was made of our GP's comment that she bruised easily due to her liver condition. Nothing was made of the fact that the bruises in the photos were small and not at all severe, that they just didn't tally with her claim that I had caused them by kicking her. Not enough was made of the statement given by the doctor who admitted her to hospital who confirmed that there was no sign of any assault but that she had been intoxicated. The jury also chose to disregard a witness who testified in court (on behalf of himself and others including two retired teachers) that my wife was seen fit, healthy and happy just 2 days after another assault she alleged I committed.

What I did discover in court was the degree and significance of CS involvement in creating the case against me was far greater than I ever realised. Earlier this year I submitted an official complaint to the council about CS. It contained more than 20 individual points including allegations of misconduct by a social worker who falsified and manipulated / misrepresented information in various CS documents. CS simply rejected this complaint out of hand but, after I replied highlighting all the faults with their decision to the council complaints team, my complaint was subsequently accepted, had an Investigating Officer and Independent Person assigned to it and is now being investigated.

I just have to hope that my IO is true to her word and to the commitment she gave me to see this case through to the end and to identify any malpractice. If this nightmare had not happened to me I would never have believed the state could act in such a dishonest and corrupt way. I only wish I had recorded every meeting I ever attended with these social workers to prove their dishonesty and bias more easily (despite the claims and threats of my son's social workers it would appear it isn't illegal to record yourself meeting and interacting with other people).

After seeing contact with my son improve to unsupervised visits he had another change of social worker and manager and their approach mirrored that of the original biased and corrupt social worker (I called her this in my complaint). Our contact was limited but we began to re establish contact only for CS to allow my wife greater unsupervised contact. Only CS could / would not see a link each time my wife was allowed greater contact with our son and my son then turning round wanting no further contact with me. Having worked to destroy my relationship with my son, as far as I am concerned, the social workers and managers handling our case have proven themselves to be modern day Nazi's.

I see my barrister tomorrow but he holds little hope of being allowed an appeal, British justice just isn't what it's made out to be. My only hope is for the investigation to expose malpractice that equates to new evidence for the court to consider.

One regret I have is not finding Al Anon sooner. If you have a partner (or any other family member or friend for that matter) who has a problem with alcohol, try Al Anon to find help for yourself. Despite references to god, it is not a religious organisation but you will find people who understand what you are going through. You wont be offered any solutions but you will find support and empathy and by discussing your situation and listening to others, your situation can improve. Take what you like and leave the rest.

Tomorrow I find out the consequences of deciding to take a moral stand and maintaining my innocence (I did this in the knowledge that it is likely to increase the severity of the punishment I will be given which is doubly hurtful if you know you are innocent) . I will either receive a custodial or suspended sentence with the only thing in my favour my previous good character of nearly 50 years. To anyone who has suffered violence or has been falsely accused, I hope your outcomes are more just and deserving than mine.

I did maintain my innocence and despite my fears and expectations I very fortunately received a custodial sentence. I was given community service and apparently set records for the probation office in completing this. My probation officer told CS the impression he had of me was far removed from that of the court and CS.

I have one question at the moment that I would appreciate an answer to but I have to be careful in what I say as we have now gone through the family court after CS sought and obtained a care order.

When my son disclosed at school that I had pushed his mum, I now know that CS carried out a S47 Enquiry. After CS returned him to his mothers care just before my criminal trial, it wasn't long before he made serious allegations at school about his mother's care that resulted in CS applying to the family court for a care order.

Should CS have carried out a S47 Enquiry as part of the application for the care order?

Children services carry out a section 47 enquiry or child protection investigation if they suspect that a child may at risk of harm. So I expect that your son’s allegations against mum would have resulted in a further section 47 enquiry shortly after he made the disclosures.

The section 47 enquiry may have resulted in the local authority considering care proceedings if your son could not have been protected from harm in another way.

I hope this clarifies the situation. If you have further questions, please post again.